CUNY Accused Of Discriminating Against Pregnant Student

The City University of New York has been cited with a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for allowing the discrimination against a 27-year-old pregnant student. Stephanie Stewart was told by a teacher that she could not make up homework or tests due to pregnancy-related absences, including labor and delivery. She was told by CUNY that professors are allowed to make their own rules about students making up work — despite the fact the federal law Title IX prohibits sex discrimination, including against pregnant students with medically necessary absences. Like, oh, giving birth! I’ll be curious to watch how this pans out. [National Women’s Law Center]

A sexual abuse survivor has created a Change.org petition to get NBC to reconsider casting convicted rapist Mike Tyson on “Law & Order: SVU.” [Change.org]

Oh, sure, Idaho lawmaker, abortion is totally just like prostitution. (Not that there’s anything wrong with either abortion or sex work. Just sayin’, don’t conflate the two.) [Think Progress]

The Democratic National Committee has elected its first-ever trans woman, Laura Calvo from Portland, Oregon. [Advocate]

Virginia lawmakers have introduced a bill to add sexual orientation/gender identity non-discrimination protections for state employees who are lesbian, gay, transgender or bisexual. [Queerty]

Playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith has won the $300,000 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, which honors “a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.” [New York Times]

Former Dear Abby advice columnist Pauline Phillips, who wrote under the pen name Abigail Van Buren, has died at 94. [The Wrap]

On “Girls,” “Downton Abbey” and the home economics of domestic workers. [Bitch Magazine]

INTERNATIONAL

Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti has announced he is against marriage equality and adoption by gay parents, saying “Family should be made up of one man and one woman.” [Queerty]

There have been protests in Saudi Arabia against King Abdullah’s decision to appoint 30 women to an advisory body which offers advice on policy decisions to be made in the kingdom. [Raw Story]

See a story that belongs in Today’s Lady News? Send it to me at Jessica@TheFrisky.com. Follow me on Twitter.

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Leolah Brown, sister to Bobby Brown and aunt to Bobbi Kristina was kicked out of her niece’s funeral yesterday after verbally lashing at Pat Houston Bobbi Kristina’s former manager as well as sister-in-law to Bobbi Kristina’s mother Whitney Houston. Phew. That was a mouthful.